SPORTS
Be sure to check out these other Sports reports:

Bulldogs in doghouse again after another defeat
3-3 tournament winds down with nothing but intensity

 
 
Brad Carver Out of the Batter's Box
By Brad Carver
[email protected]
Staff Writer

Michelle Wie responsible for school dropouts?

Ok, let me start out by saying that no GHC basketball team with only one win needs to be worried about writing us and telling us that one person beat your team. Bottom line, you didn�t get the job done. Don�t get mad at the paper for just recording the facts.

Now moving on and getting out of the batter�s box.

Does it bother anyone else that a 16-year-old girl has turned pro in golf?

Now I know that Michelle Wie is a great golfer, but let�s face it, this is horrible for golf and for education. What does this say to all the kids out there that are good at sports and don�t want to go to school? In a world where we over emphasize the value of education, there seem to be more and more people turning pro at a young age.

When I was 16, I was happy just to get a car. Wie is endorsed by Nike and is making millions! However, I am more disappointed by the parents than I am anyone. I was always taught by my parents, as I am sure most of you were, that education is more important than anything else.

I am happy for Wie that she gets to play a sport that she loves, but since turning pro there has been nothing but controversy that has surrounded her. She might not even get a high school diploma. I think that this is a crying shame.

Being endorsed by Nike, she can appeal to younger women and Nike sells more products. So now every young girl that plays a sport can think she can be the next Michelle Wie and focus more on sports than her education.

What kind of message are we sending as a society? This cannot be ignored. Just think of Tiger Woods. He graduated from Stanford and was still a great golfer. Wie will not ever get the chance to experience that. But let�s not forget that most of the blame goes to Nike and society as a whole.

I will leave you on this note. If your child was wonderful at a sport and had a chance to leave school behind, would you protect his or her chance for an education or would you go for the money?